Over the weekend, Las Vegas welcomed one of New York City’s most sought-after reservations and celebrity hotspots (Taylor Swift visited twice within weeks of its 2024 opening in SoHo). With tons of fanfare, the Corner Store threw open its doors in the Cosmopolitan
with a socialite-studded, invite-only celebration ahead of its public opening November 9. The party drew Pete Davidson, Ludacris, and NBA star Russell Westbrook, among others.
The Corner Store is a partnership between Tilman Fertitta, founder of the Houston-based Landry’s, Inc. and Eugene Remm’s Catch Hospitality Group. Here, chef Michael Vignola elevates American comfort food favorites. Cream cheese, cubed and fried, comes atop salads as a croquette; that childhood freezer favorite, the pizza roll, gets an adult makeover. “The menu is all about taking dishes people know and love and doing them exceptionally well,” Remm says. “Nothing is overly complicated or intimidating.”
Sitting on the third floor inside the Cosmopolitan, the Corner Store lacks the street-level presence of its SoHo counterpart. Inside, however, it’s a near replica. Though twice the size of the New York location overall, the Las Vegas iteration’s interconnecting rooms give the former Blue Ribbon American Grill space an intimate feel. Teetering between diner and steakhouse, the design is distinctly New York with “some direct references to the SoHo location,” says Rockwell Group designer Shawn Sullivan. These include a deep-green and burgundy color scheme, checkered black-and-gold marble flooring, antique mirrors, striped velvet upholstery on the Hollywood banquettes, and celebrity photographs (think Debbie Harry at Studio 54) hanging above the host stand at the entrance. “Instead of trying to pretend the restaurant was embedded in a neighborhood, we wanted to invite guests into a story of New York and transport them there,” Sullivan says.
Anyone who has dined at the SoHo location will find this Corner Store familiar. For those who haven’t, the menu is gimmicky, but with intention and finesse. The aforementioned Five Cheese Pizza Rolls ($19.95), for instance, are far from the Totino’s of your youth. Vignola and his team make the dough in-house, source the five cheeses from Murray’s on Bleecker Street in New York, and bring in pepperoni and ‘nduja from Salumeria Biellese, also New York-based. “We’re not changing ingredients simply because we’re entering a new market,” Vignola emphasizes.
Other reimagined classics include the Corner Store Caesar ($24.95), which marries baby red and gem lettuces with those molten cream cheese croquettes, toasted everything bagel croutons for an unmistakable crunch, and a flurry of grated Parmesan. The French dip ($44.95) gets its upgrade by way of Westholme Australian wagyu ribeye, prepared over 72 hours and accompanied by a dark jus for dipping. The lobster and caviar roll ($19.95) comes on a super buttery toasted potato bun with a generous dollop of golden Ossetra caviar. “It’s a quintessential bite,” according to Vignola.
While the menu remains mostly faithful to its New York counterpart, Vignola says the Butcher’s Counter has been expanded for Las Vegas to include two premium cuts from Rosewood Ranch, a wagyu porterhouse and a long-bone tomahawk.
And don’t sleep on the cocktails here. Created by Catch Hospitality Group’s beverage director, Lucas Robinson, and run by the Cosmopolitan’s head of mixology, Gedeon Tsegaye, the beverage program excels, and martinis are the way to go. In Las Vegas, the Corner Store has introduced a dedicated martini bar with a green onyx countertop Sullivan describes as “a jewel box within the restaurant.” A large-format Martini Service serves two to three guests.
Signatures include Oli’s Dirty Martini, made with olive-oil-washed vodka and topped with a trio of olives stuffed with mascarpone and caviar; a tomato martini with housemade tomato water; and a sour cream and onion gin martini (which is, trust us, far better than it sounds).
The Corner Store is open for dinner Sunday through Thursday 5 p.m. to 10 p.m, and Friday, Saturday from 5 p.m. until close. Reservations are required and can be made here. The restaurant is a mature dining space. Guests under 10 years old are not permitted at any time. Guests under 21 years old must complete their visit by 7 p.m. and may not be seated at the bar or bar dining tables at any time. A smart elegant dress code is enforced.
